Favorite Director's Quote Relay Race

David of Taste of Cinema has created a relay race known as Favorite Director Quotes that features quotes from 10 filmmakers about cinema. It's a simple concept that is passed on from one blogger to another by taking one quote out and putting a new one in. David passed the baton to me after having been abandoned as it's now re-booted. Here's what he has to say:

“People love wisdom words from great minds. As a cinephile, I prefer director quotes than words from any other group of people in the world.Their thoughts on cinema not only provide insights into deep understanding of cinema, but also open the window to their own films, their genres, their filmmaking methods, thus they need to receive more exposure as their films did.”

Here are the participants who have contributed to this relay race:

David of Taste of Cinema

Chris of movieandsongs365

Alex of And So it Begins...

Josh of The Cinematic Spectacle

Stephanie of On Page and Screen

Burnham of Rambling Film

John of John Likes Movies

Ruth of Flix Chatter

Keith of Keith & the Movies

Mark of Marked Movies

Tyson of Head in a Vice

Eric of The IPC

& S1ngal of S1ngal

And now, the 10 great filmmakers and their quotes:

“I steal from every single movie ever made. I love it – if my work has anything it’s that I’m taking this from this and that from that and mixing them together. If people don’t like that, then tough titty, don’t go and see it, all right? I steal from everything. Great artists steal; they don’t do homages.” – Quentin Tarantino

“Why make a movie about something one understands completely? I make movies about things I do not understand, but wish to.” – Seijun Suzuki

“When I make a film, I never stop uncovering mysteries, making discoveries. When I’m writing, filming, editing, even doing promotional work, I discover new things about the film, about myself, and about others. That is what I’m subconsciously looking for when shooting a film: to glimpse the enigmas of life, even if I don’t resolve them, but at least to uncover them. Cinema is curiosity in the most intense meaning of the word.” – Pedro Almodovar

“You make films to give people something, to transport them somewhere else, and it doesn’t matter if you transport them to a world of intuition or a world of intellect…The realm of superstitions, fortune-telling, presentiments, intuition, dreams, all this is the inner life of a human being, and all this is the hardest thing to film… I’ve been trying to get there from the beginning. I’m somebody who doesn’t know, somebody who’s searching.” – Krzysztof Kieslowski

“Every film should have its own world, a logic and feel to it that expands beyond the exact image that the audience is seeing.” – Christopher Nolan

“If there is resistance to women making movies, I choose to ignore it. That is because I cannot change my gender and I refuse to stop making movies.” – Kathryn Bigelow

“I really subscribe to that old adage that you should never let the audience get ahead of you for a second. So if the film’s abrasive and wrongfoots people then, y’know, that’s great. But I hope it involves an audience. If not, that’s my fuck-up.” – Paul Thomas Anderson

“I think when you’re young and have that first burst of energy and make five or six pictures in a row that tell the stories of all the things in life you want to say . . . well, maybe those are the films that should have won me the Oscar. When Taxi Driver (1976) was up for Best Picture, it got three other nominations: Best Actor [Robert De Niro], Best Supporting Actress [Jodie Foster] and Best Music. But the director and writer were overlooked. I was so disappointed, I said, “You know what? That’s the way it’s going to be”. What was I going to do, go home and cry?” – Martin Scorsese

“In England, I’m a horror movie director. In Germany, I’m a filmmaker. In the US, I’m a bum. ” – John Carpenter

Who Am I Taking Out: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu

“(On why did he not record an audio commentary for 21 Grams (2003)) I don’t like them. I feel that if you have to explain something, it loses strength. It’s like a magician trying to explain his magic, in a way. Those kind of things make me feel like I’ve lost something special about the film. The film should explain itself”

It's an admirable quote that does make a lot of sense. Yet, compared to the other filmmakers in that list. Everyone else has something either profound or funny to say. Plus, Inarritu is a filmmaker that has been known for making films that are very bleak with not much humor as his last film in Biutiful was very sluggish and overwhelming at times.

Who Am I Putting in: Jim Jarmusch

"Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of waters, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable: originality is nonexistent. And don't bother concealing your thievery--celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: It's not where you take things--it's where you take them to."

Jim Jarmusch is a world class filmmaker. In the films he's made, it's obvious where he gets his ideas and isn't afraid to say he got this from that filmmaker or this filmmaker. That's why he is the bomb.

And now, I shall pass the baton to Margaret at Cinematic Corner. I would like to know what quote she has from a famous filmmaker.